Read More

Irish centre Macken was the grateful beneficiary of an interception thrown by home fly half Jamie Shillcock on halfway, and after he raced to the posts, stand-in kicker Rob Miller converted.

Worcester’s forwards made good headway once or twice in the early stages, and this allowed Shillcock to kick a simple penalty when Wasps infringed on the ground.

Some good carries from the visitors’ big men, including James Gaskell and Frank Halai, then created a similar opportunity at the other end, which Miller accepted from 30 metres.

Wasps’ front row was under huge pressure from the outset, and when they were driven skywards, Shillcock kicked an easy penalty, to which he soon added a third three-pointer when Wasps infringed on the ground.

Brendan Macken of Wasps celebrates scoring the first try of the match at Worcester.

Warriors’ winger Cooper Vuna carried the restart 60 metres only to be scragged by the cover defence in Wasps’ 22, before Rob Miller gave Wasps some breathing space with his second and third penalties.

The opposing fly halves then claimed a further penalty apiece in the closing stages of a half which ended with Alex Rieder’s carry then Ashley Johnson’s chip ahead narrowly failing to release Josh Bassett to the corner.

Wasps seven-point interval advantage appeared a slender one given the pressure their pack were under, but a flying start to the second period soon doubled this.

Halai twice carried strongly, then Robson side-stepped his way through the fringe defence to go under the posts from 20 metres for a score which Miller converted.

Read More

Shillcock missed a simple 20 metre chance to close the gap shortly before the hour mark, but Worcester’s forwards continued to feed off a growing Wasps penalty count.

Worcester thought Alafoti Faosilva had scored with 15 minutes remaining, only for Wynand Olivier’s final pass to be ruled forward following a strong Vuna carry.

The Warriors then missed another good chance when Josh Adams’ final pass went into touch five metres from Wasps’ line.

Worcester’s lineout accuracy slipped as the second half progressed, and this prevented them building the attacking momentum with which to really pressure Wasps, despite most of the match being played in the visitors’ half.